Sick of sexual discrimination in bike events

I'm getting pretty sick of being discriminated against just for being a bloke. Just entered the steel city downhill, were I have to pay £5 more just for being male. The organisers say they charge women less to encourage them, which is bollockd as if you've gone and bought a DH bike, travelled to an event , food, fuel etc then the entry fee is usually the cheap bit, so your not less likely to do it if it was equally priced. Another annoying thing is womens only events, such as sportives, you spend 5 hours on a bike riding a road that's not a race so why women's only? Most women I know would rather die than enter a women only event.

Reducing the price is not working, as DH ravcng is still mostly men . Surely women should want to do something for the fun of it not just caus it's cheaper. And this women's only events feel different is a load of bollocks, as events should be about people on a bike, having fun on a bike, not about someone's sex. If women feel hard done by in cycling they should be empowered to change it, not set up there own women's only events as means that things won't change .

I suggest you go for a sex change then. That is if you can find anything to chop off in the first place. You dont pay £5 more for being a bloke, women just pay £5 less. Whats wrong incouraging them into the sport? Did some girl kick your ass at the event and your feeling bitter about it?

I've been beaten by women loads of times, I usually come last. I'm all for encouraging women into events. What is pissing me off how unfair it is for a group of people to get it cheaper for no other reason than there sex. Also, if I see a sportive and think that it'd be a good ride, but then can't as I'm the wrong sex WTF! It should be about riding ! Is it wrong to believe in fairness where everyone pays the same and events are open to all?

depends on how you work it out. do you spend a fortune on make-up, fashion clothes and spend ages getting ready? I have an extra 45mins to an hour in bed in the morning whilst my mrs gets ready. It all works out in the end

I think that one of the main drivers for the women's only sportives is the opportunity to not ride with arsehole men "racing". You'd better get going with this discrimination thing you've got going by complaining about women only fun runs, women only tennis at Wimbledon, all those women only athletic events, mum's bums and tums at your local leisure centre, women only ante natal clinics, ladies toilets, ladies changing rooms, well women centres, oh sod it.

I'm all in favour of women only events and can appreciate why women would want to take part in them.Men are usually idiots and this is x100 when there are girls about, but I don't see why they should pay less.

They may have to queue for the loo, but don't usually queue to get into the club!

Does seem pretty pointless charging £5 less for women at a DH event, DH racing is about as full-on MTBing as you get - I doubt it attracts women into the sport as they'll already be very committed to even think of entering.

It's great to see more support and encouragement for women in cycling / mtb'ing. Currently, out of all the possible "outdoor pursuits" (such as climbing etc), cycling has the lowest proportion of women.

Women only events are a great idea for a few reasons. Cycling is so male dominated that a lot of the time I'm the only girl. Even on the normal Saturday ride with my local road club I'm the only woman riding with 40 guys, so often cycling is "men only" by default. I would definately ride with a women's group or event - not all the time, but sometimes as it would be good to have other girls to share experiences with, and to compare my performance with others of the same gender.

The £5 less is probably a gesture to try and encourage more women to take part. As for whether that is fair, be aware that women pay a "price penalty" for being such a minority in cycling. There is very little choice in women's cycling kit, so often we have to pay for a high priced product as we have no option to choose a cheaper alternative. Plus, if you wanted to go into wider societal gender differentiation, thd average women's salary is lower than men's, so we have less money per se.

Personally I love cycling / mtb'ing, and happily keep doing it even when I'm the only girl. The guys I ride with are great, but I do wish there were more women in cycling so fully support any attempts to encourage greater participation.

I remember as a teenager many of the clubs had women enter free or get 2 for 1 drinks deals. It was a great way of stopping these places turning into a sausagefest and good for everybody.
It would be nice to have more women at bike events.
I'm not sure if money is the main deterrant though.

hugor - agree completely that money isn't the main deterrant, but as a 'gesture of encouragement' then it might be appreciated as a way of offsetting the number of times women have to pay a bit more for cycling-related things. But I don't think it will lead to more women entering the event the OP is referring to.

However, women only clubs, training, and events can, and do, encourage more women into cycling, and for many a female only sportive is a great entry point into that type of event which means hopefully they will go on to do more "mixed gender" sportives in the future.

I think there is something in offering women only cycling events. Sandy has worked hard to promote Hervelo in Edinburgh and its an active club offering a lot to members. That wouldn't have happened if there wasn't interest or demand from potential members.

And to be fair, there is also a gents section, Herrvelo, as well...

Op, just accept that somethings are different prices, thats how it is for unemployed, pensioners, students, parents.... take your pick.

I'm getting pretty sick of being discriminated against just for being a bloke. Just entered the steel city downhill, were I have to pay £5 more just for being male

Just to be clear
Are you annoyed that women are getting a discount and you're not? or are you annoyed that you think you are being charged an extra fiver over the normal entry for being a bloke?
If it's the first one, it's just envy then - rather than any extra burden on your finances

Hugor - sausagefest - giggles. Do you grill them lightly with some mustard or wave them around a bit first ?

While I admire the sentiment I am not sure if dropping the price by a fiver really helps. What would help is a less macho attitude, and you sir seem to be part of the problem, not part of the solution.

For a start Marcus that's an average and not every company it's not a rule. Also I am disabled you don't see people getting a discount for that and there are a lot less disabled people racing than women.

In a nutshell women go on about equality in all areas of life, this is something I totally agree with. Infact in some areas it is advantageous to be a woman, the difference is you dont get blokes moaning about it (I tend to though).

No one should be disadvantaged due to their gender. Therfore there should not be a different pricing stucture for women unless the prize fund represents this difference also.